Do you want to turn your fashion hobby into a highly profitable clothing business in this video?
I'm going to show you how you can start your very own clothing business in 4 simple steps.
Hi, my name is Mei and I help makers artists
and designers create a consistent income from selling their handmade products online.
I've been selling handmade jewelry
for 14 years and I haven't looked back
since the day I was able to turn my hobby into a full-time income.
So today I want to show you how you can do the same first.
Let's talk about why starting a handmade clothing business is a good idea.
So you might be thinking the industry is oversaturated.
That couldn't be further from the truth. The global fashion industry was worth
two and a half trillion dollars in 2017
alone and the numbers of only grown since then people are always going to need clothes.
So with a little market research and a fresh perspective.
There's no reason you can't find some wiggle room
for your own handmade business and this huge industry.
It is totally possible for you to have a slice of that pie
and lots of people buy from a handmade or independent clothing.
Owners, so don't worry about competing with mass manufactured fast-fashion Brands.
Here are four simple steps to get started first this goes without saying
but you need to drill down on a specific fashion Niche even the
big name brands cater to specific audiences
and as a small business owner this becomes even more important for you,
especially if you want to stand out from the crowd ask yourself.
What audience you want to sell to are they in?
With certain lifestyle, where do they usually hang out?
What jobs do they have? What materials
and colors would suit them are they looking
for apparel with a practical purpose
or is it all about the design do they need it for a special occasion or activity?
What specific items are they looking for? You know like jackets dresses pants,
once you know the kind of Shoppers you want to appeal to you will
be able to create a whole business plan
and marketing strategy that it's tailored to them
and awesome success story is Jack Vanek who at 15 years old gave up her place on her school's
cheerleading squad to devote more time to her bracelet business.
So she started her company with a $200 loan from her parents
and started selling bracelets with the word ruthless at music festivals.
She catered specifically to the music festival crowd and look where it's gotten her at 29 years old.
She's now the CEO of a clothing brand that's worn by celebrities like Miley.
Cyrus and Demi Lovato, not bad right
for someone who started out with just bracelets her products may not be the most creative
and this goes even further to prove the point that the most important thing you need is a niche
and for Jack she chose the music festival audience.
It's super important to think about what your customers want.
That's the reality for being successful in business making products,
you know, people want to buy However,
you need to be passionate about your designs as well.
Or you won't be able to stick with your business in the long run.
So a healthy balance of the two is what you're ultimately after.
Okay. So once decided on a niche step two is to choose the initial first,
you designs you want to be selling so a healthy balance of the two is what you're ultimately after.
Okay. So once decided on a niche step two is to choose the initial products for your opening line,
if you're tempted to jump in and start selling everything,
it could mean the end of your business before you even kick things off properly
when you're starting an online.
Or it's always smarter to start with a small line of products.
You think your customers will like and Branch out as you grow take a look at Bali elf.
For example, the brand started out with a few handmade leather
bags and once they saw initials success,
they branched out into making leather shoes
and sandals and eventually even started selling colorful dresses that
can be worn with their leather line over the years.
The brand has built a loyal following
and are now thriving off just online sales proving that you You don't need an
excessive line of clothing designs to be successful.
You're better off starting small until you find a few winning products.
And before you know, it you'll be able to build on your
initial success by giving your customers more
of what they want and eventually introducing complementary products to your clothing line.
Another great example of this is the North Face over the years.
They've branched out into complementary products,
like hats gloves and bags,
but we all know it started with the initial success of there.
Jackets, the jackets do so.
Well, the company probably could have never Diversified their offering
and they probably still be profitable to this day.
So let's say you've decided to open an online clothing store aimed at
buyers who are conscious about the environment
and the materials.
They were instead of putting out a bunch of different items that are ethically produced isolate
the must-have products that you think are most representative of your brand on the flip side
starting with too many products can cause A lot of money
and time up front and not just in terms of buying the materials
but investing the time in designing everything just think of all those extra photo shoots
and product descriptions are going to need to write not to mention the complexity you'll be adding
to your business which can further affect the quality of customer support you're going to be able to
give your customers having focus is super important
and valuable.
So don't over complicate things for yourself.
Also something else too. I think about is
whether your products are seasonal
or if they're wearable all year round aside from changes in season.
You also want to prepare for changing Styles
and shifting fashion trends big Brands will jump at any occasion to come up with new clothing lines
for their buyers.
So it's worth taking a moment to consider
whether you want to start out with something that's very Niche
and trendy and needs constant updating
or whether you want to stick with a more Timeless clothing line that will adapt better to The
quickly changing Landscapes of the Fashion World both can work.
It's just something worth keeping in mind when choosing your first products.
All right. I think I'd be in this point to death.
But the takeaway here is that it's smarter to start with the basics
and get off the ground quickly while keeping an eye on your end destination as you grow.
Once you've decided which type of products are going to start with
step three is to start ordering your materials.
You're going to need a steady and dependable supply of materials.
The term cut and so is for clothing that's been customized from raw
fabric rather than bought from a third party supplier
and then modified or printed on so if you make a cut and sew a Peril,
this will allow you to create very unique designs that can truly set yourself apart
as a clothing designer.
However, this does require a bit of upfront costs
and you need to factor in some extra material to make room for errors.
That's again why it's a great idea to start out with a simple product line.
Typically the more variety. Order the more you're going to spend
so nice way to save money is to see if you can reuse the same materials
for multiple types of products.
There are literally thousands of suppliers to choose from
and who you choose will depend on the type of products
or making but some great online pattern makers
and suppliers to get you started with our clothing Hair Design source,
and the pattern makers also check out makers Row
for a whole directory of Manufacturers you could work with By the way,
don't forget this video is totally free for you to watch.
So please take two seconds to give it a thumbs up
and subscribe to my channel for more handmade business tips and strategies.
All right back to the video. Assuming you've got your first products ready to
go and sell and you taken some good product pictures step 4 is to set up your shop both offline
and online you can get into wholesale by reaching out to local boutiques,
which is a great place to start because they already have A proven customer base.
All you need to do is offer them a good price usually store
buyers will expect 50% of your retail prices
and don't take care of all the Marketing sales and customer service,
which is a pretty good deal. However,
the core of your business should be your online presence.
Even the largest brands with retail stores are getting more
and more of their sales from online customers these days
and while some people would get discouraged at the idea of competition.
I am here to tell you it is actually an opportunity.
Natty online Commerce, otherwise
known as e-commerce almost completely levels the playing field between you
and some of the biggest brands out there allowing you to build a
loyal customer base at a fraction of the cost.
If you're ready to start building your online presence
and make the bulk of your sales from the comfort of your own home.
I suggest you get started with an e-commerce platform like Shopify
and depending on your type of product.
You'll want to consider whether it's worth selling on Marketplace sites like Amazon
and Etsy the funny thing about Amazon is
that although it is one of the largest apparel sellers in the u.s.
Second only to Walmart. Most people who buy clothes on their
site says Amazon isn't really a destination
for fashion.
People are more likely to turn to Amazon
for basic and Casual apparel
and especially because it's convenient with their Prime shipping and all that other good stuff,
but it's a handmade seller. You may not get your money's worth
for your Unique Designs on a slightly.
Like Amazon, you can always look into it later to diversify
but I don't suggest most of you guys start on there.
Let's see on the other hand is a great Marketplace
for up-and-coming designers who want to dip their feet into the world of e-commerce.
Unlike Amazon Etsy is a known Marketplace for handcrafted and unique Goods.
Meaning people are looking
for Creative designers just like you on there
and although XE is a lot better suited for independent designers.
I still don't recommend making any Marketplace the core of your online business firstly
because they will always be the ones in control.
Of your customers and secondly
because sites like Etsy and Amazon are constantly updating their policies
and making changes that could negatively impact your business
and you have no say or control over those changes now,
I'm not saying you shouldn't diversify your income by getting on other platforms.
I just suggest you don't rely on them to be the main source of your income for your business.
But instead focus on building your own site,
that's going to be the best long-term solution for a Successful online business.
Alright. So now that you've got your products in your store is ready to go step 5 is you'll
need to start promoting your products to the right people.
There are tons of ways to do marketing out there and some are more expensive than others.
But instead of diving right into paid advertising I highly suggest you look into media outreach,
especially if you're just starting out there are thousands of influencers on sites like Instagram
and YouTube who have millions of followers that buy the products.
These influencers talk about
or recommend on their platform
and that's not even considering other platforms like
blogs and websites like style Caster
or refinery29 and print magazines like in style Cosmopolitan Elle Marie
Claire and so on getting your products in all of these places is also considered media outreach.
Now, you may be thinking media outreach is expensive,
but that doesn't have to be the case at all
while it's true that many of the big influencers
as especially those on Instagram will expect to be paid for promoting your business.
I suggest you start working with micro influencers who will often do it for free.
These are people who already have a pretty good following
so something between 10,000 and 50,000 ish followers,
but are still at the start of their Journey before you reach out to social media influencers.
Make sure they have really good engagement.
I usually only reach out to people who get several thousands of likes per post on Instagram
and an average of Thousands of views on YouTube.
These guys are always looking for new and awesome products to introduce to Their audience.
Also definitely reach out to print magazines.
There are two routes to appear in a magazine
and that's by paying for an advertisement which can cost thousands of dollars
or you can reach out to an editor for free for a chance to be featured in a product or Roundup,
which is super valuable for your business. I always feature it completely
for free in Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine and that feature it.
Made me $20,000 in sales in just one month and that's not counting.
The residual sales. I kept getting months
and years later from that one feature now compare that with a paid ad in that same magazine,
which I've seen can cost around 20 thousand dollars for just one end to get featured for free.
All you need to do is find the right person to get in touch with
and with their permission send them a free product if they love
what they see and they probably will then they'll be Happy to introduce your work to their readers
and followers.
Remember, you're helping them
out as much as they're helping you these influencers
and magazine editors need to find interesting content to share with their followers
and it can be a constant struggle to Source information like that.
You're helping them do their jobs media outreach is so powerful guys.
This is how I grew my own handmade jewelry business
and coaching business and it's the same strategy.
You'll see used by many other hugely successful brands on.
Line to get to where they are today. There's so many more ways.
You can promote your products from Paid
ads and SEO to doing social media
and blogging but media outreach is really one of the easiest
and most effective ways to get started especially if you're on a low budget.